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Well, as many of you already know a new trailer was released for TOR at EA's E3 press conference today. It is called "Hope." You can view it on the official site or below (via youtube) Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) (This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

Although not a SWTOR announcement as such, after 7 years as THE Star Wars MMO, Sony online entertainment, and the powers that be at Lucus Licensing/arts, have finally decided to Sunset the often reviled Star Wars Galaxies. Although it has had a sketchy history, SWG has maintained a reasonably large Player-base, and obviously made a profit, But on the 24th of June I received this email... "Dear Star Wars Galaxies™ Community Member, We write to you today to inform you that on December 15, 2011, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts will end all services (MMO and Trading Card Game) for Star Wars Galaxies (SWG). The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game. We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we've received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years. In recognition of your incredible loyalty, we are extending special Fan Appreciation offers to the current SWG community. We also plan to go out with a bang with a galaxy-ending in-game event in December and hope to see you all there. The details relating to these offers and events as well as the timeline and specifics regarding the discontinuation of the service, are provided below. Again, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to our player community for making SWG one of the best online communities in gaming history. Sincerely, Sony Online Entertainment & LucasArts The Fine Details: Discontinuation of Services: As of September 15, 2011, the SWG MMO and Trading Card Game will no longer be available for sale or subscription at both retail and all online digital retailers. All billing for active subscribers with accounts in good standing, except for Station Access subscribers, will end on October 15, 2011." I'm guessing the reason for this Shock news (Shock to active members at least) is that they want to make the most of SWTOR's release, and they hope all the disgruntled SWG players will just flock to SWTOR. That, and of course the end of SOE's contract with Lucus in Decemeber could mean a late 2011 release date?

EA CEO Riccitiello said it'd be 'irresponsible [to announce a release date] ... as it would give competitors an opportunity to disrupt the launch': Everyone's afraid of the big bad WoW. Source: CVG

Random House released a synopsis for Karpyshyn's Revan novel. Link

Gamepolitics Story Be careful, folks!

Watch it here. Featuring flying Jawas, and everyone's favourite assassin droid!

New Timeline... (This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.) Interesting... I really like these updates myself

Last friday, we got some insight in how a starship in TOR's being created. The artists took the Imperial Agent's starship as the example for the process. The concept art does look very nice, in my opinion. The article also contains a Q&A with the community. The Fan Friday update contained some cool fan-made propaganda art ("Join the Sith! Meet interesting people... and crush them all!"), among other things.

This time, we meet Supreme Chancellor Janarus, the Bounty Hunter Jewla Nightbringer and member of the Dark Council Darth Jadus. I must say, Jadus looks pretty cool. Last Friday gave us another Developer Blog, by the way. This one on Cinematic Design. It has some short videos showing off a few conversations. Worth checking out.

Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Revan's rebirth? Is this and the shadow towards the end hinting that Revan is still some how alive?

First and foremost, for the BotE haters out there, good news: It's over. For the lovers, it's also over. You can read the last issue here. In other news, Bioware has updated the Smuggler page with their specialisations. The Gunslinger's info confirms that yes, you will be able to dual wield hairdryers. Speaking of smugglers, you know what they love? Spaceships. Especially ones filled with Wookiees. And lastly, it's eye candy time. Added to the inhabitants section are Twi'leks, so you can learn about their tragic past whilst you ogle them. If you look carefully you might notice that BW only posted pictures of male Twi'leks.

Darth Hater tossed up a reveal of advanced classes from Gamescon. Imperial Agent - Operative (uses blaster rifle or energy blade, stealth, burst ranged damage) & Sniper (dps - counterpart of Gunslinger) Sith Inquisitor - Sorcerer (force damage, single bladed lightsaber) & Assassin (double bladed lightsaber, stealth, burst damage) Bounty Hunter - Powertech & Mercenary Jedi Consular - Shadow (double-bladed lightsaber) & Wizard (healing / single lightsaber) Trooper - Commando (tank) & Vanguard Add that to the ones revealed already and we see a pretty decent picture forming.

Alright, today Bioware hath released a Fan Friday, chocked full of fibre and the typical fare: drawings, roleplay threads (they might be NSFW, but I didn't check), polls, concept art, and a video. In the Developer Corner section, they announced the Advanced Classes, their defining features, and their party roles. To save your time loading a webpage, I've pasted them here: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Trooper: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Commando Heavy Blaster Cannon Grenades Ranged DPS Vanguard Blaster Rifle Energy Shields and Defense Tank Smuggler: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Scoundrel Blaster ‘Shot Gun’ Stealth / Medicine Burst ranged damage or Healing Gunslinger Dual Pistols Quickdraw / Fast Attacks Ranged DPS Jedi Knight: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Jedi Sentinel Dual Wield Saber Saber fighting specialist Melee DPS Jedi Guardian Single Saber / Heavy Armor Leadership / Party Buffs Tank Jedi Consular: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Jedi Shadow Double Bladed Saber Stealth Burst melee damage Jedi Wizard Single Saber Powerful Telekinesis / Healing Ranged Control / Damage or Healing Bounty Hunter Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Powertech Flamethrower Defense / Energy Shields Tank Mercenary Dual Wield Guns Missiles Ranged DPS Sith Warrior: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Sith Juggernaut Single Saber / Heavy Armor Fear and Darkside Auras Tank Sith Marauder Dual Wield Sabers / Armor Saber fighting specialist Melee DPS Imperial Agent: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Operative Blaster Rifle / Energy Blade Stealth Burst Ranged damage Sniper Sniper Rifle Cover, Ambush, Orbital Strikes Ranged DPS Sith Inquisitor: Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) Sith Sorcerer Single Saber Force Lightning / Force Drain Ranged DPS or Healer Sith Assassin Double Bladed Saber Stealth Burst Melee DPS Powertech and blaster shotguns? This is starting to look like fun. It's interesting to see that the Republic has more healbots than the Sith. On the proper update side, they have opened a webpage in the holonet about the player ships available in the game, with most currently in silhouettes save for the Jedi Defender and Sith Fury.

Videogamer.com was invited for a hand-on preview of the Hoth quest hub for Star Wars: The Old Republic Linkie: http://www.videogamer.com/pc/star_wars_the_old_republic/preview-2368.html I don't know if this planet should be here. Of course Hoth rocks, but mostly because of the TESB movie scenes. What Old Republic Jedi have to do there? No idea. Thoughts? EDIT: Just saw the article also mentions a new species. Rattataki!

This week, Bioware has decided to make the theme of their update the Jedi Knight. On the media side of things, they have released a short trailer (using in-game graphics), along with updating the class section to include the Knight's specialisations: the tanking Jedi Guardian and the damage-dealing Sentinel (feel free to skip reading that page, they essentially gave names to the specialisations and called it a day). And lastly they announced a new companion for the Knight, that droid you may recognise from the Deceived trailer, whose name is T7-01. He's also proof Moore's Law doesn't apply to the setting. To be honest, I'm more interested in finding out if we can really kick droids off sail barges than anything else.

Link And for those of you complaining about BioWare ignoring TSL, the Overview on the Holonet page makes direct reference to the Exchange hunting Jedi during TSL.

The tie-in novel to the game (Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance) now has a more detailed summary available from RandomHouse. The book is due for release on July 28, 2010, and it's follow-up has a tentative release date of December 28, 2010 source I've pasted the summary below, or you can read here. Show spoiler (hidden content - requires Javascript to show) BioWare and LucasArts—creators of the hugely popular Star Wars:® Knights of the Old Republic® video game—have combined their storytelling talents and cutting-edge technology for an innovative new massively multiplayer online role-playing game that allows players to create their own personal Star Wars adventure 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader. Now #1 New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams brings the world of the game to life in his latest novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance. Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that’s drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic’s envoy is not what he seems, the Empire’s delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can’t, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone. None of these guests—invited or uninvited—have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world. But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they’ve never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.

Looks pretty cool, and the Voss Mystics sounds pretty interesting as well. They remind me a bit of the Miraluka from K2. Link

INTERVIEW@IGN OVERVIEW@SWTOR A small quote from the article:

Source

ARTICLE@IGN

Newest issue released today... Still building, but remains interesting. This starts to tie the two Sith Apprentices we've been introduced to together.

Another update from Friday - lead writer Daniel Ericksen talks about how the TOR team develops new worlds (Voss specifically). It's pretty interesting to learn about the process, and we also learn a little more about the Voss/Gormak back-story. Link

Article 1 Advanced Classes revealed More pictures